Budding photographers can snap up a grand

Young Sussex photographers could win £1,000 for their school following the launch of a national competition.

Children aged 4 - 11 are being encouraged to print and send in a picture of something that matters to them, along with an explanation (in less than 100 words) of why that person, event, place or object is so important to them.

A panel of judges will award the photographer of the very best entry £1,000 for their school to spend on print or photographic equipment, while two runners-up will receive £500 for their school and all three placed entrants will get a state-of-the-art camera worth £100.

Alongside the winning entries, the top 50 photos from across the UK will be showcased in a free-to-download-and-print photo album, intended to act as a summary of what mattered to children in 2016.

The competition is sponsored by cartridgesave.co.uk, whose managing director Ian Cowley said: “We’ll never be able to 100 per cent rely on technology so printing is the only way to guarantee that an image won’t be lost.

“We want to celebrate the power of printing and the fact it provides us with a physical testimony of that one memory we never want to forget.”

One of the judges, Dr Sandi Mann, added: “Our relentless march into the digital space means we are no longer printing photos and we are in danger of losing the connection to our past. It’s important that our future generation takes steps now to stop and print the photos that matter to them so that they always have physical reminders of the memories that document their lives.”

The competition has three categories: 4 - 6, 7 - 9 and 10 - 11, and the closing date for entries is 6th May 2016. More details at: